AUBURN, Ala. - That dull glow above the South Alabama Plains might either be Albert Jackson's light bulb coming on or Georgia's road futility going up in flames.

A career-high 16 points by Jackson and late free throws by Billy Humphrey gave Georgia a 59-54 win against Auburn on Wednesday at Beard-Eaves-Memorial Coliseum.

The win snapped Georgia's five-game losing skid and softened the sting of the Bulldogs' 11 losses in the Southeastern Conference. Georgia (13-15, 4-11) won on the road for the first time this season and for the first time since 1994 at Auburn (14-14, 4-11).

"This is great, it's amazing considering our road record," Jackson said. The 6-foot-10 sophomore forward entered Wednesday's game averaging 2.5 points a game. "A win on the road just gives us a lot of confidence. It gives us momentum going into Senior Night. It gives us confidence that we can make some noise in the SEC tournament. Nobody wants to see us in the SEC tournament. We're coming in with some momentum and with some confidence, you never know what's going to happen."

Humphrey hit 4 of 4 from the line in the final 13.2 seconds to secure the Bulldogs' lead and put an exclamation mark on Jackson's career night.

"The first thing that comes into my head is 'You'd better not miss these free throws,'" Humphrey said. "I just think about how I'm going to make it as opposed to whether or not I'm going to make the shot. So I'm saying to myself 'This one is going all net. If it hits a little rim, I'll take it.' Saying that gives yourself full confidence."

Jackson hit eight of 10 field goals for his 16 points. His hook shot with about 2 minutes left gave Georgia the lead for good at 52-51. Jackson started his fourth straight game and also had eight rebounds in 29 minutes.

"In a way it feels like my year turned around all at once," Jackson said. "It feels good to be on the upward side of things and then your team gets a win so everything's on the up-and-up right now."

Georgia held a 55-52 lead after a pair of free throws by Gaines with 1 minute, 38 seconds left. Georgia missed a chance to make it a two-possession game when Woodbury missed the front end of a one-and-one with about 33 seconds left. Auburn also missed four straight 3-point attempts that would have tied the game in the final 1:38.

"We got good looks," Auburn coach Jeff Lebo said. "In a game like this you are not going to get wide open, no one guarding you looks. We are perimeter shooters and by playing the zone they are forcing us to shoot from the outside since we're so small."

Auburn drew within 55-54 when Frank Tolbert sank two free throws with 21 seconds left. Auburn fouled Humphrey on Georgia's inbounds play and Humphrey sank the first two of his four straight free throws.

Sundiata Gaines and Terrance Woodbury scored 11 points and grabbed eight rebounds for Georgia. Auburn was led by Tolbert with 12 points while Quan Prowell added 11 and Rasheem Barrett had 10.

Georgia struggled against Auburn's five-guard lineup. It trailed by 11 in the first half before switching to zone defense and holding Auburn to 3-of-15 shooting (20 percent) from the 3-point line in the first half. Auburn shot 21-of-62 (34 percent) from the field, including 6-of-31 (19 percent) from long range in the game.

"I knew we would have to play a lot of zone and it really paid off," Georgia coach Dennis Felton said. "They could've easily hit a lot more, but I didn't feel like we could man up to them out there."

Georgia fell behind by 11 points in the first half but rallied with a 10-2 run sparked by a pair of 3-pointers by freshman Troy Brewer. Georgia took a 30-27 lead at halftime when Gaines hit a 3-pointer.

Georgia and Auburn exchanged the lead in the second half. Auburn took a 48-43 lead with 10:10 left on a 3-pointer by Quantez Robertson But that would be Auburn's last points for the next 6:05.

Georgia outscored the Tigers 8-0 in that stretch highlighted by Jackson's tip-ins of Gaines' misses on two straight possessions. A bucket by Dave Bliss gave Georgia a 51-48 lead with 4:58 left.

Notes

Georgia started the second half by hitting all three of its field goals but also turning the ball over five times. ... Neither team finished the first half with much momentum. Auburn hit 2-of-9 from the field in the last 5:22 of the half. Georgia countered by turning the ball over five times. ... Georgia brought in a four-guard lineup with 15:03 left in the first half. Zac Swansey and Corey Butler joined Gaines and Humphrey with Jeremy Price as the only forward. ... Georgia returned to the four-guard approach with 14:22 left after Auburn took a 40-38 lead this time with Woodbury taking Butler's place. ... Georgia's basked for the lead late in the first half took an interesting journey. Dave Bliss whipped a pass to Troy Brewer who was cutting down the lane. The ball bounced off of Brewer's hands and straight to Jackson who hit a hook shot.